It'll Be Okay
by Aryll Jaynn
Summary: Tragedies can change many things. I would know. I've seen some things I wish I could erase from my memory forever. Things I wish could be gone, sinking into the void of darkness. My life was normal. Good, even, until that day. That day changed me forever. And now, I'm on this magical quest that I didn't even want to be on, wishing and praying for her to come back to me.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody, I'm back with a new story! I won't go too much into it, but just know that this one's much darker compared to my other stories (except for Hero's Fate, but we haven't gotten to the dark stuff in that one yet...) Be warned that this story contains character death as well as heavy themes, and slight language. No mature content. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! My friend helped me come up with the concept, so huge thanks to her!**

 **~Aryll Jaynn**

* * *

It'll Be Okay

/ _Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep/Dreaming about the things that we could be.../_

 _~Counting Stars_ by One Republic

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Chapter One (Link)

My head spun in three-hundred-sixty degree angles as I tried to rack my brain for the answers to our newly assigned Hylian homework.

 _Screw this language and its uncanny ability to ruin my life_ , I thought bitterly as I flipped a strand of shaggy blond hair out of my eyes.

It was a typical, boring Thursday afternoon at Castle Town High. I was currently seated at my desk, trying to do my Hylian homework while avoiding the shouts and snickers and obnoxiously loud gaggles of the other kids in my class.

Seriously, it's like these kids were raised in a barn rather than the most prestigous city in all of Hyrule. I'm one of the only students at CTH that lives outside of Castle Town, and yet I'm still pretty mellow compared to them.

It's not like I have a choice, though. I have to be calm and studious. My family isn't very rich, so the only thing we have going for us is our education. My sister, Aryll, and I would have to work our butts off to earn A's in order to graduate early and get a scholarship for college, which our grandmother definitely can't afford at the moment.

The only problem is, well...I'm not very _good_ at school. Aryll's amazing and gets straight A's in all of her classes, while me on the other hand...let's just say I'm pretty average compared to her. Granted, she's a Freshman, a grade lower than me, but she still gets better grades than I did back then.

Now, I can do math and I'm not bad at science, either. History and my other electives are a piece of cake. But what really gets to me are these damn languages. Seriously, who _invented_ Hylian, anyway? Well, I guess it was Hylia...but that's beside the point! It's just so hard, with all the characters, grammar, vocabulary...ugh, it gives me a headache.

At that time, it had been getting so bad, my teacher Mr. Lightte had suggested I get a tutor. Now, as I mentioned previously, my family isn't rich at all. In fact, we're almost kind of poor. There was _no_ way I'd be able to get a tutor. That is, until the headmaster's daughter, Zelda Hylari stepped up and offered to tutor me for free.

I can't tell you enough how grateful I was when Mr. Lightte told me that someone was willing to tutor me free of charge. I was ready to jump up with joy and scream, _Maybe I won't fail Hylian and have to repeat 10_ _th_ _grade AFTER all!_ The catch was, he didn't tell me _who_ my tutor was until our first session.

That's when the poop hit the fan.

I hate to say it, but I've crushed on Zelda since the 7th grade when we started off in the same Hylian class. In 9th grade, she was given the opportunity to skip a grade and go off to AP Hylian, which was an advanced level course for the 'naturally gifted.' The worst part is, Aryll, being the braniac she is, _also_ skipped a grade, so now both of them are in the same class. That's right. My little sister and my crush. In the same class. Thank the freaking _goddesses_ word hasn't gotten out about me liking Zelda, or Aryll would never let me hear the end of it.

As I struggled to get even a single character on the page, I suddenly heard a small knock at the door. Since I sat at the back of the classroom, I turned to check out who it was.

There, standing before me in casual jeans, a T-shirt and a patterned cardigan, holding a huge pile of binders and textbooks was Zelda herself. Her smile was bright when she saw me, causing me to redden slightly, and her blue eyes glimmered. Her bushy, golden hair was in its usual ponytail, held up with a pink srunchie.

"Hey, ready for today's lesson?" she whispered.

I nodded. "Yup. Hey, Mr. L! Zelda's here, we're gonna go study!"

The elderly teacher nodded and smiled towards us right before saying in a firm voice, "All right, class, settle down. Mr. Howei, stop flirting!"

The called-upon Sheikah kid's face turned as red as his eyes as he quickly returned the eraser he'd been constantly stealing from this girl Elera. Everyone laughed.

I hurried to gather up my things and followed Zelda out the door, avoiding the snickers from a few kids and one of Zelda's friends whispering, "I ship it!" rather loudly and making a heart with her hands right before we exited.

I rolled my eyes. Everyone shipped us. Everyone except Zelda, that is. Everytime the subject of relationships was brought up, she give me a long lecture about how dating was just a "waste of time" and that I didn't have time for it, not with my "unacceptable grades and foolish demeanor." I never took it personally, though. After her lecture, we'd always just share a laugh and she'd tell me it was her job to enforce academics over love.

Another thing about Zelda: She's completely clueless. Not academic wise, obviously, but social wise? Definitely.

Like, some guy (and by that I mean me) would compliment her smile and unlike any normal girl who'd probably either slap me or get all flustered, she'd just laugh and say "Aw, thanks. You have a nice smile too. I think everyone does. It's just part of being a human being, you know? Smiling."

And then she'd get back into tutor-mode. Jeez, it's like this girl doesn't even _want_ me to like her, or for anyone to like her for that matter. But even though I can take a hint, I just _can't_ get over her. At all. I have no idea why. Maybe there's just something about her smile, the way she doesn't believe it when I say she's smart (which is all the time), or the way she lectures me about the importance of self worth that just gets to me. Every. Single. Freaking. Time.

We walked over to the library, our usual tutoring area, where the doors were suspiciously locked.

"Hm..." Zelda mused, obviously upset. I swear, that girl literally _lives_ inside the library.

"I guess it's not open," I said, shrugging.

"That's too bad," she sighed, "I guess we'll have to study back in your classroom, which is definitely not the best place, but—-"

My eyes suddenly brightened as I unconsciously grabbed her hand. "Hey, I know! Let's study in Room 117. No one ever goes in there!"

I could see that she looked extremely confused. "Why does no one go in there?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Farore knows. I guess it's just a spare room no one likes to be in 'cause it's too drafty and full of bugs. But it doesn't bother me. I like it. It's cozy. Like the forest."

I waited for her to reply, internally cringing at my nonstop rambling, but she was staring intently at our hands. I instantly blushed and withdrew my hand from hers, shoving it into my pocket instead. _Dear goddesses of the Sacred Realm, WHY did I do that?!_

"Um...sorry." I said pathetically.

But Zelda simply smiled and shrugged. "No worries. Now, let's go to this remote location. Room 117, here we come!"

…

I led the way to Room 117. With every step on the stairs, another embarrassing moment I'd had in front of Zelda found its way into my brain, leaving me to relive those awful times where I'd completely lost my groove in front of her.

Let's see, there was that time I accidentally told her that she was pretty, that time I tripped over my own shoelace in gym, that time I choked on a strawberry during lunch while she was there, that time we were on a bus and Aryll told embarrassing stories about me as a kid, that time I asked her if she could return a piece of paper to one of my teachers and my friend Sheik told her it was a love letter...ugh. Etc, etc.

Only the goddesses know what else Aryll tells her in their stupid AP Hylian class. I haven't told her directly, but I'm sure my sister can tell I have a crush when I do. I swear, she's like a second mother to me. Always doting over me, telling me to brush my teeth before bed, nagging me to comb my unruly blond mess of hair, to do my homework...ugh. I don't mind it though. I freaking love the munchkin nevertheless. Along with Grandma, she's my everything.

Mom died when Aryll was born. Dad passed away a few months later from cancer. For fourteen years it's just been the three of us. Me. Aryll. Grandma. We live in a small village on the outskirts of Castle Town, called Ordon. Even though I was born on Outset Island, after our dad died, a family friend had driven us to Ordon with all of our belongings to live with Grandma. I was only a year old at the time, so I don't remember my parents much. I only remember my mother's long, golden hair and my dad's forest green eyes.

" _It'll be okay_ ,"Aryll always tells me when I think about the past. She always smiles when she says this and puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. Honestly, it's like she's an older sister rather than a younger one sometimes. Though, I guess one year isn't that much. We're the closest in age siblings I know who aren't twins.

"Is this it?" Zelda asked, interuppting my thoughts.

"Yup," I answered, holding the open door for her. "This is literally my second home."

She laughed, entering the room.

I smiled. She had a sweet laugh.

We sat down at a table in the middle of the room. Zelda quickly opened up her numerous binders, books, study guides, etc. while I kind of dumbly pulled out my wrinkled homework paper from my jean pocket.

"All right, let's get started." she said, turning into serious tutor-mode.

I internally sighed. "Right,"

As much as I wished we weren't studying, well...reality's reality.

"Let me see how far you've gotten on the assignment," she said, reaching over to grab my paper.

Pushing up her glasses and flipping a strand of golden hair off her face, her expression turned skeptical as she looked over the horrible handwriting and probably incorrect answers.

I'd always wondered why Zelda's hair was blonde while her parents both had brown hair. I once offered the idea that she was adopted, but she'd rolled her eyes and told me that was impossible, considering the close resemblance she shared with her mother. They literally look so much alike, if Mrs. Hylari were also blonde and a little younger looking, I swear they could have passed as twins. Or at least sisters.

After two minutes or so, Zelda sighed and looked at me, her face serious. "Link, it's almost the end of first semester...and you have a D- in the class! If you don't get up to a C by next month, you'll have to drop out."

I frowned, embarrassed. "I know, I know..." I trailed off.

Zelda's expression turned soft and she looked at me with some worry in her eyes. "Hey, are you okay, Link? Is something bothering you? You can tell me." she offered a weak smile.

I sighed. "It's just that..." _It's just that I can't think straight around you._

"What?" she asked curiously, then she smirked. "Do you have a crush on someone? Is that why?"

My eyes widened. _Could she tell?!_

"Uh..." I stuttered.

She laughed, her sweet laugh. "Aww...Little Linky likes someone! Tell me who it is! Come on!"

 _Little Linky? I'm only a few months younger than her, jeez!_ I hoped my face wasn't as red as I thought it was. "No one, Zelda, really! It's no one!"

She gave me an exasperated look. "I don't believe that, Link. You're blushing red as a tomato. Now," her gaze was firm. "Who is it? Do I know her? Or him, I don't know. I'm not discriminative."

My mind was racing. Part of me just wanted to let loose and tell her...that it was her. Another part of me was wondering why in the world she was so persistent on knowing, and the last part of me was the part that won. _Let's see if she can guess._

"Um...It's a girl...and, yes...I guess you do know her." I said slowly, setting down my pencil. I could tell we wouldn't be studying much.

Her eyes brightened. "Ooh! Is it one of my friends?"

 _How do I answer that?_ "Um...sure."

"What does she look like?"

 _Oh, boy. Well, if I'm lucky her cluelessness will take over and she won't know._ "Uh...she's relatively short...blonde...and she's really smart and nice."

Zelda seemed to be thinking it over. _Dear Goddesses!_ I wanted to yell. _It's YOU for Din's sake!_

"Hm...well, I'm not sure actually. That could be anyone. I know a lot of short, blonde, smart and nice girls." she answered after a minute or two. I sighed, relieved.

But then, she smiled devilishly. "But I'll find out. Someday. Anyway, we need to work on these verbs! You haven't gotten a single one right!"

I nodded. "Alright, Zel."

She looked at me curiously. "'Zel'?

"...Da. Zelda." I corrected, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry,"

She smiled. "No...I kind of like it. Zel. I wonder if it'll catch on."

We then launched into action. By that, I mean _she_ launched into action, circling the wrong answers and asking me to correct them with red pen.

"See, when you have a verb with a vowel sound following, you have to write the character like this," she explained, leaning over me to write the correct answer on my paper.

"Yeah. Okay." I said. "I think I got it."

Zelda smiled. "Good. Now, correct the rest of them while I see your latest test."

I groaned silently. I'd bombed that test. If there was such grade as an F-, I'd probably gotten it.

When Mr. Lightte had passed it back, I didn't even bother checking the grade. It was just too painful.

I pretended to work on verbs while using my peripheral vision to study Zelda's reaction to my test grade.

For some reason, though, she wasn't grimacing like I expected. In fact, she was...smiling?

 _Probably at my stupidity,_ I thought. There was no way I'd gotten a good grade.

"Link, great job!" she exclaimed, patting my shoulder. Her blue eyes were glimmering with pride.

I raised an eyebrow, severely confused. Was she teasing me? "For getting an F?" I asked cautiously.

"What? No! Did you even see this test grade?" She held up the paper. At the top, in bright, red ink was the letter 'B'.

My head exploded.

"I got...I got a B?" I almost yelled. "Are you sure that's my paper, Zelda?"

Sure enough, the messy words "Link Smith" were at the top right-hand corner of the paper.

She nodded excitedly. "Yes! And that's not even the best part, Link! According to my calculations, your grade should go up to at least a C- if you keep up this new streak!"

 _Yeah, don't have such high expectations, Princess. Wait. Why'd I just call her 'Princess'?_

It was weird...like something in the back of my mind had urged me to refer to her as 'Princess'...Or maybe it was just her unbelievable good looks? Meh. Probably both.

Shaking it off, I smiled, truly grateful. "Of course, I couldn't have gotten a grade like this if it wasn't for you, Zelda. Thank you."

She blushed at this. Or was that just my imagination? "N-no problem, Link. I'm here to help."

We sat in an awkward silence for a few moments after she told me to continue with my verbs while she looked over my test.

A bit later, I noticed Zelda had a troubled look on her face. I gulped. Was it something I said?

"...You okay, Zelda?" I asked, setting down my papers.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's nothing." she said, shaking her head.

"You sure? You seem a little...distracted. Usually you're so focused on my stupid mistakes." I said, trying to lighten her up.

She cracked a small laugh. "Yeah...well. I don't know, it's just that...I feel like something's not...right. You know, like...something's a bit off about the school today..."

I tilted my head. "How so?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Don't listen to me. I'm just tired, as all." she smiled. "Now, quit worrying about me and get to work!"

I laughed. "All right, all right, Sensei."

I expected her to at least smile at what I called her, but she didn't. Instead, her eyes became downcast and her smiley expression was pure seriousness.

Just as I was about to say something, the announcement system went off. I felt a strange chill up my spine, even before we heard the frantic voice of Vice Principal Sahasrahla.

" **STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. ALERT, ALERT! THERE IS AN INTRUDER IN OUR TOWN HOLDING DANGEROUS ITEMS. HE MAY BE APPROACHING OUR SCHOOL. CODE RED. PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND BEGIN LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. OVER."**

Zelda and I whipped our faces toward each other.

She was breathing heavily. "Link...what do we do? Our classes...they're on the other side of the school! We can't just stay here alone! Oh, my goddesses...I'm so scared, what do we do?!"

I honestly didn't know what to make of the situation. I'd never, _ever_ seen Zelda freaking out the way she was now. She was always so calm and collected. _I_ was the worrisome one.

The only thing I could think of doing was placing a hand on her shoulder and whispering the words, "It'll be okay."

She blinked, and her pretty blue eyes were close to tears. "Link..."

"Look, we're in a bad situation. But our teachers know that we're out tutoring and they'll send someone to get us soon, I'm sure. Just don't worry."

She nodded through her tears. "I-I guess so..."

I offered a weak smile. "Come on, let's go hide."

I could tell she was too shocked to do much movement, so I gently took her hand and led her to the counter, where I had her kneel down and go under. Then, I quickly closed all the windows and locked the door, making sure to double-check the lock.

After I was satisfied with the lockdown procedures the teachers had drilled us through many times before, I took a deep breath and slipped beneath the counter next to Zelda.

I could feel her trembling next to me. Furrowing my brow, I started, "Zelda..."

"This is what I was talking about, Link." she whispered. "Something just seemed off today...I just didn't think it'd be this bad..."

"We'll be fine. I promise." I found myself saying. "And hey, if anything happens, I'm here to protect you."

Zelda looked at me. Any other time I'd probably blush at the fact that we were sitting so close to each other and she was looking right at me. But this time, her eyes were filled with a deep sadness and fear that I couldn't quite comprehend. But then, she did something that _did_ make me blush.

She hugged me.

"Zelda!" I exclaimed silently, truly shocked. Happy, but shocked.

She burried her face into my shoulder and I could hear her soft sobs.

After my mind processed what was happening, I hugged her back gingerly.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said after a bit, letting me go. "It's just that...I don't know. When I look at you, I feel like I've known you all my life...maybe even in a previous life...Something just made me want to hug you..."

 _That's kind of like when something made me call you 'Princess'..._ I blinked several times before answering, "It's all right, Zelda."

She finally smiled. "Now that I'm here next to you, I actually do feel safe. Maybe you're right. I think we'll be okay."

I smiled back. "I know we will."

My mind relaxed at her smile and we sat in silence for several long minutes.

I found myself wondering about Aryll. She'd be in her own 3rd period, which was History. She'd be sitting next to her friends under the desks, probably not as scared as I thought she would be. Aryll's a brave girl. I knew she'd be okay.

Grandma would be at home, knitting, reading, or something Grandma-y like that. She'd be making her overly-early preparations for dinner and Aryll's piano lesson later. But...at this rate...would Aryll even be going to piano today?

 _No,_ I snapped at myself. _It's going to be okay. Aryll's gonna go to piano. Zelda and I are going to get out of here. It's okay. It's okay._

But the more I kept telling myself that, the more I had trouble believing it.

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 **Thanks for giving this a chance! Please leave a review letting me know your thoughts!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back with a new chapter! Just to warn you, this one's a bit on the sad side...I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!**

 **~Aryll Jaynn**

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 _/If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?/ If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?/_

 _~Clarity_ by Zedd ft. Foxes.

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Chapter Two

"Link...Link, get up!"

My eyes fluttered open what seemed like hours later. I saw Zelda leaning above me, trying to wake me up.

"What happened?" I asked, slowly sitting up.

"We both fell asleep; it's almost the end of school now. I just heard something from outside and it woke me up..." she whispered, looking worriedly over at the door.

My gaze turned towards the area. There seemed to be nothing there...

"So...what should we do?" I asked.

"I don't know..." she replied sadly. I frowned. Zelda almost never said those words.

The next few minutes seemed to happen in slow motion, but at the same time, my heart was racing faster than ever.

First, we heard large, angry footsteps coming from outside. Zelda's eyes widened and she quickly sat down next to me again. She slipped her hand into mine. A dreading moment of fear found its way into my head.

Secondly, the door swung open, hitting the wall with a loud _CRASH!_

I squeezed Zelda's hand.

 _Farore, be with us..._ I pleaded.

Third, a horrible, demon-like voice spoke in a horrendous tone, " _I know you're in here, little goddess._ "

Through the tiny crack of the teacher's desk that I'd put in front of the counter we were sitting under, I could make out the man's features very briefly. Bright, golden eyes were hidden under a ski mask. He was tall, buff, and armed with a gun. It would be an understatement to say my heart was pounding. It was about to burst open with terror.

I kept feeling a dark sensation in the back of my head that I couldn't quite understand. I'd never seen this man in my life, but at the same time, it seemed like I'd seen him before...not in real life, but like, in a dream or something...

 _It's a dream it's a dream it's a dream._ I kept telling myself.

But it wasn't a dream. The warmth of Zelda's hand was enough to justify that.

A sudden movement occurred behind the desk, and it flew across the room, revealing Zelda and me fully to the terrorist.

Zelda screamed. I was too shocked to do anything. I simply stared at the man, fear enveloping every inch of hope I had had left.

The man then smiled, a creepy, sadistic smile. His voice boomed like thousands of drums from Hell. " _I knew I'd find you eventually, you filthy goddess girl,_ "

 _Goddess? What in the world_ _i_ _s he talking about?_ There was a silence before I found myself saying, "W-who are you? What do you want with us?"

The man scoffed incredulously. " _'Us'? Ha! That's quite adorable, boy,"_ he spat at me _, "But you are of no use to me. She is the only one that matters._ "

I looked over at Zelda, who was very close to tears, just as I was.

She didn't say anything.

The man lifted his hand towards me. I saw swirls of dark magic envelope me, and I was thrown across the room. I groaned in pain, then my eyes drooped.

…

(Zelda-Third Person)

"LINK!" Zelda cried, finally finding her voice. "Stop! Don't hurt him!"

He met her gaze for half a second, then fainted.

She looked up at the man, tears flowing down her face. "What did you do to him?!" she shouted, anger building.

" _No need to get f_ _ei_ _sty, little goddess._ " the man cooed. " _Just sit still and let me do my work._ "

 _Why does he keep calling me a goddess?_

" _Don't act like you don't know who you are!_ " the man yelled, as if reading her thoughts. His eyes narrowed. " _Today is the day I will finally be brought to justice. Today is the day I_ _will_ _end you. You, the divine creation of the_ _G_ _oddesses of_ _L_ _egend! Hylia!_ _May you meet your ultimate demise!"_

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. And she remembered.

 _I am Hylia. I am the goddess._

Memories came flooding back to her, as if a dam had been broken and the river was finally flowing free.

 _I am Hylia._

She saw a flurry of images in her mind.

 _I am Hylia._

A harp, a golden bird, a Sheikah woman, the Hero of Legend, a sword, an ocarina, a pirate ship, a Twilight mirror, and so much more.

 _I am Hylia._

The man raised his arm, a shiny pistol in his hand.

The fifteen-year-old Zelda screamed. But the Ancient Goddess was calm, almost too serene for the circumstance.

"Ganondorf," she found herself saying.

His smile was wicked as he drawled eerily, " _We meet again, Your Grace._ "

…

(Link)

It happened almost too quickly. I went from being completely out of it to wide awake in a matter of seconds.

There was a gun pointed at Zelda. The man was pointing a gun at Zelda.

My mind raced as I registered what was happening. Then my brain clicked: _he's going to kill her._

My eyes widened as I saw Zelda shoot me a look of, to my complete surprise, serenity. She wasn't cowering in fear like any normal person. No. She was sitting up straight, still under the counter, glaring at the man with angry, yet calm sapphire blue eyes.

"Don't do it, Ganondorf. She is just a girl," Zelda said in a voice I'd never heard her use before. The cheerful demeanor was gone from her tone, replaced by what sounded like her voice, just maturer...wiser.

The man, apparently named Ganondorf, smirked evilly. " _That may be so, but she's still the Goddess reborn. I'm terribly sorry, but I don't take pity_ _on anyone who gets in my way._ "

His finger was on the trigger. Just as it was about to be pulled, I started to yell in some vain hope that someone would hear. That's when everything stopped.

…

(Zelda)

Time was frozen as Ganondorf was about to pull the trigger and end her life. Just as she was about to scream, something stopped her.

A gentle voice was echoing in her head.

 _Zelda...Hear me, child..._

 _'Who are you?'_ she asked, her eyes still locked on Ganondorf's gun. She caught sight of Link's ghostly white face in the background, and her heart pounded.

 _I am the Goddess, Hylia...Since your birth, our souls have been merged. But now is when I must leave you. Please, child...forgive me for all my mistakes...I did what was necessary in order to keep peace within the land._

She didn't know what else to say. For some reason, she understood exactly what the voice was talking about.

Zelda closed her eyes. _'So...is he going to kill me with the gun?'_

 _No, child. That man isn't after you, he is after me. That tool was only to threaten you. If my spirit leaves you now, you won't feel a thing. If it doesn't, he will shoot you._

Millions of thoughts were going through her head. She wondered if Hylia could read them. She then asked the pressing, inevitable question.

 _If it isn't me he's after, does that mean I'll still live after you're gone?_

There was pure silence for several, long moments.

 _'I am sorry, my child.'_

But for some reason, Zelda wasn't surprised. It was if she'd already known the answer from the start. She didn't even bother questioning it. She knew.

She was going to die. She'd never see her family or friends again. She'd never get to get married and watch her kids grow up. She'd never be able to live again...

Zelda's sobs were silent, just as time was. She was trembling. She wished there was someone there right next to her, anyone, who'd be able to give her some source of comfort.

But it was no use.

 _Just...do it, s_ he requested. _I don't want my last memory to be in pain._

 _'I admire your bravery, my child. Please find it in your heart to forgive us for all we are putting you through...May the Goddesses of Legend bless your soul...'_

The voice was fading away slowly.

Zelda clenched her fists. She silently named all the ones close to her heart and said to them with all her being, _I love you all so much, please don't be sad when I'm gone...this was meant to be..._

…

(Link)

I saw an unearthly glow radiate from Zelda's body, tendrils of golden magic surrounding the room. A beam of light shot out of her. And then I saw the life being sucked out of her.

Her once golden, vibrant hair was turning a shade of brown, and her eyes went from sapphire to slate gray.

She lay on the floor, almost lifeless, but her eyes were brave when the man smirked and spoke an evil, dark spell. My eyes widened. He was speaking in Ancient Hylian, so I could only decipher a few of the words. But what I was able to make out was too frightening to think about.

Within seconds, the man had vanished, and Zelda was still breathing, but barely.

I ran to her, "ZELDA!"

I took her head into my lap, tears staining my face and her pale cheeks. Her eyes were barely open. I couldn't recognize her in this form. She looked so different with brown hair and gray eyes.

But she was still beautiful.

I held her face close to mine. "Zelda...please...don't go..." I pleaded.

Slowly, her frail hand reached up to cup my cheek. "Link..."

I took her hand in mine. "It's all right, he's gone now. I'll call the ambulance, just-"

Zelda shook her head. "N-no, Link...Don't...I just want to stay with...you..." she whispered.

I didn't know what to say, so I simply nodded. _Don't worry now, I've got you._

"Link...I was going t-to die anyway...whether like this or not...I wasn't born to...live a long life..."

"But...why?"

She didn't answer, but her eyes were telling me, _I can't explain it._

A strange sadness filled me and I shook my head, understanding. "It's okay, Zelda...you don't need to say anything."

We stayed like that for a while. Her head resting on my lap and my arms wrapped around her. I could feel her trembling. I knew she was going to die, and that was the worst part of it.

"Zelda, you know that girl I was talking about before? The one I said I liked?" I said, looking into her eyes. I could barely keep my voice from shaking.

"Yeah?"

"I-it was you."

She smiled. "R-really?"

I nodded.

"Promise me you'll study well, okay? Promise me you'll do your homework, study for the t-tests and get into a g-good college with Aryll, o-okay?"

A tear slipped down onto her cheeks. I was crying, too. Even in her last moments, she was still looking out for me.

"Please, t-tell my parents that I love them v-very much. My brother, too. A-and my friends...Tell them all n-not to be sad..."

I nodded tearfully. Her words, so melancholy and pure, were crushing every part of my soul.

"And Link?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you. Don't ever forget that."

My heart pounded as she started to slip away. She loved me. She loved me. _She loved me._

I gave her a faint smile and squeezed her hand close to my chest. "I love you too, Zelda."

With one last smile, she closed her eyes.

* * *

 **Hopefully that wasn't too depressing! There'll be some good stuff happening soon, so don't worry! If some of the lore-y stuff doesn't make sense, I promise it will in time. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait, haha, I kind of got super busy and hardly had any time to write. But, I'm going to post two chapters today because chapter three was originally way longer, so I just split it into two chapters. Hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!**

 **~Aryll Jaynn**

* * *

 _When I see your eyes again_

 _I hope you'll smile at me_

 _When we laugh and sing and play_

 _That's all I really need_

* * *

Chapter Three

The ambulance came moments later. But it was of no use. Zelda was gone.

They took her into a stretcher and wheeled her away. I watched, sadness enveloping every inch of my body.

I frantically searched the school for Aryll. I couldn't lose the two most important girls in my life in one day.

When I couldn't find her, I simply stood outside, crying in agony at the sky, the goddesses. _Why did this happen?_ _What did Zelda ever do that was so bad?_

I was breaking down on the ground when I felt a soft hand on my shoulder.

I whipped around and saw Aryll, her eyes dead serious and intense. She'd been crying for a long time.

I pulled her into a hug, never wanting to let go.

"I-it'll be okay," she managed through her tears.

But I could tell she was lying.

"Aryll," I sobbed. "Don't ever leave me,"

She nodded, her tears dampening my T-Shirt. "Never."

And we stood like that for a good long while.

…

Zelda's funeral was held a few days later. It was a dark, rainy day.

Her parents were there. So was her older brother, Daphnes. All her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were there.

The entire 10th grade was there.

I was there with Aryll. We were at the front of the entire crowd.

After everyone had left, Aryll squeezed my hand and gave me a big hug before heading out of the cemetery. I wanted her to stay, but I knew cemeteries made her uneasy.

I decided to stay for a while, along with her parents and brother.

Zelda's mother came to me, her gray eyes hollow and bloodshot. She held up an umbrella for me. "Link, dear, it's raining pretty hard. You should go inside."

I simply shook my head. "It's all right, Mrs. Hylari. I'm fine here."

She gave me a sad smile. It reminded me so much of Zelda's I almost cried out.

I stayed with Zelda for a good two hours or so.

Just thinking.

Talking to her.

After crying and shaking for what seemed like an eternity, I was about to collapse.

Then, I felt a small, gentle hand on my shoulder. It comforted me almost immediately.

I figured it was Aryll, so I said, without turning around, "Thanks, Ryll. I'll come in in a minute."

"Link."

My eyes widened. That voice was _definitely_ not Aryll's. It was so strange...as if I'd heard the voice before but couldn't quite remember where it was from.

My heart pounded as I turned around, expecting to see one of my classmates, Zelda's friends, or something.

But the girl wasn't like anything—or any _one,_ rather- that I'd seen before.

She wore a long, white dress with umbrella sleeves. That was strange. Girls nowadays didn't wear dresses like that...

The weird thing was, even though I didn't recognize her, she looked oddly familiar. Make that _very_ familiar.

It took me a few moments to realize what was going on here.

The girl looked exactly like Zelda.

She had the same golden hair, sapphire eyes and elegant frame. She stood with the same grace, very ladylike and approachable. Just like Zelda.

But Zelda was gone. I had seen it with my own eyes.

She smiled the faintest of smiles. That was the one difference. Her smile was the one thing that set her apart from Zelda.

"It'll be okay, Link." she said in her soft, peaceful voice.

It'll be okay. The same thing Aryll tells me.

"Who are you?" I asked. This was starting to freak me out. Was this girl a fragment of my imagination? Had I gone completely insane? What was going on?

"I am Hylia." she answered. "And I'm here to help you."

The last thing I remember seeing is blackness as well as the girl coming towards me and taking my falling form into her arms.

...

I was awakened to the cold touch of familiar hands on my face. A girl's voice was calling my name.

"Link! Jeez, you really need to wake up already!" she was saying.

I opened my eyes slowly, seeing Aryll's face above mine, worry creasing her every feature.

"Oh, thank Goddesses you're awake!" she said, crushing me in a hug.

"Was I asleep?" I asked lamely, returning the gesture. My head was hurting and I didn't know where I was.

She let go of me to look me over. I used this as an opportunity to look around at my surroundings. We were in a house. Presumably in the Hylari's'. The funeral was held not far away from their place.

To fully prove my point, to my right, above a small fireplace, was a family picture: Zelda's dad, Nador, beside his wife, Julia; to their right was Zelda's brother, Daphnes, and in the middle...

My heart caught in my throat. With her golden hair and sapphire eyes, she definitely stood out most in the picture against her family's brown and gray features. She was smiling brightly, so carefree it made me want to sob.

"Link? Hello?" Aryll said, waving her hand in front of me, breaking my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

At my confused expression, she sighed. "I said that Daphnes found you passed out on the ground in the cemetary. He didn't know what had happened so he just brought you here to me. Are you okay? You've been out of it for the past half hour or so."

I nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. My head just hurts a bit."

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Hm...Maybe you hit your head on something?"

"No, that's not it..." I trailed off, trying to remember.

Suddenly, it all came back.

The girl. The white dress. The golden hair, blue eyes. The smile. What had she said her name was? Hylia? _And that she was here to help me,_ my mind added.

I felt really queezy, and my head was spinning rapidly. Aryll was looking at me expectantly, and honestly, I had no idea what I was going to say to her. Luckily, I didn't have to, because Daphnes came into the room a moment later.

"Hey, guys." he greeted us.

He was sporting a simple tee-shirt that brought out the gray in his eyes, and his chestnut brown, tousled hair was uncombed. Even though he smiled at us, his eyes were dead and full of despair and misery after loosing his little sister.

"Hi, Daphnes." Aryll said.

He returned her greeting with a smile and turned to me, looking concerned the same way Zelda used to when she looked over my tests. "You all right, man? I found you passed out in the cemetary."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, half-lying. "I don't know what happened...I just..."

Daphnes waved me off, "No worries, dude. I'm just glad you're okay."

There was silence for a few moments, and I finally realized how awkward it was to be lying down on their spare couch in the den.

I sat up and there were a few moments of silence.

"Um...we should probably get going," Aryll muttered, standing up from the couch and grabbing her purse. "Grandma will start worrying."

I nodded in agreement and then looked out the window. I groaned. It was raining like crazy outside.

"I'll drop you guys off, if you want," Daphnes piped up, as if reading my thoughts.

"Oh, you really don't have to-" Aryll started. But Daphness shook his head promptly.

"Listen, guys," he said, lowering his voice. "We've all had a tough week. Let's go, all right? I really have no problem with it. Driving relaxes me anyway."

With a sad smile, he walked out of the room.

Aryll sighed. "Come on, Link."

With a solemn exchange of goodbyes with Mr. and Mrs. Hylari, Aryll and I left the house with Daphnes silently.

He started up the car, and I got in the passenger's seat with Aryll behind me.

The drive was extremely uncomfortable. I thought of talking to Daphnes, possibly trying to console him, give him best wishes, or something. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It felt wrong, somehow.

I thought about telling him that I knew how he must feel, since I loved Zelda too. But that also felt wrong. How could I possibly know how he felt? He'd lost a sibling, and although we'd both loved her, he'd loved her in a different way. It just wasn't the same.

So I kept my mouth shut and watched the rain falling outside.

I kept wondering about the girl I'd seen in the cemetery. Who on earth was she? And how the hell did she know my name, not to mention why did she look exactly like Zelda?!

I sighed, shaking my head. I must be going crazy, I told myself. That girl was most definitely a hallucination. Probably from the lack of sleep and food I'd had the past few days. Not to mention all the angst. And the crying.

"Just a left turn here," Aryll told Daphnes as we entered our neighborhood.

He parked right in front of our house, and Aryll thanked him and immediately jumped out of the car and headed inside, her blond braids getting soaked in the process.

"Thanks, Daphnes," I said after unbuckling my seatbelt.

"No problem. Take care, okay?"

"You too."

I shut the door and walked up to the porch and watched him drive off.

* * *

 **I might change the poem thingy at the beginning...it's just something I thought of off the top of my head XD But I really can't think of any existing song lyrics that would fit this chapter. If you have any suggestions, let me know :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's Chapter Four! I hope you all enjoy this one, it's much less depressing than the previous ones! The action will begin soon, so the plot seems a bit slow right now, but I swear it'll get better in time :)**

 **~Aryll Jaynn**

* * *

 _I see a tower built out of my mistakes_

 _And it all comes crashing down_

 _Is there something I can do?_

 _Can I make it up to you?_

 _~Tower of Mistakes,_ by Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe

* * *

Chapter Four

 _A few weeks later..._

"Link...stop it! You're doing it again!"

I looked up from my homework at Aryll, who was giving me a scathing look. She was sitting on my bed, doing her own homework, and I was stationed at my desk. I'd been clicking my pen nonstop for the past hour or so, and it was driving Aryll insane. I told her that it was a nervous habit, and that she should just go work in her own room, but she'd quickly shaken her head and her eyes had turned serious.

"No. I don't want to be alone."

I nodded understandingly. "Okay...I'll try to stop, but I make no promises."

She rolled her eyes.

"Ryll?" I asked a few minutes later.

"Hm?"

"Um...can you help me with this Hylian homework?"

She looked up and I could the see lines of grief in her gaze. We shared a moment of silence, but then she nodded solemnly and came over.

Before I could say anything, she burst into tears and buried her blond head in my shoulder. I hugged her close.

"I just...I miss her so much, Link!" she said, her voice muffled.

"I know," I responded. "I miss her too."

"Why did it have to happen?"

"I..."

But nothing came that would suffice as an answer. I couldn't lie to her. I didn't know why it happened. I had no clue. And the worst part was, I'd failed to do anything to protect her.

"I don't know, Aryll." I said, my vision blurring slightly from the tears as I looked down at the homework that I knew no one would care enough to look at anymore. "I just don't know."

…

Many months went by. Not a single day passed when I didn't think about Zelda.

As they say, things happen, people change; they go away and come, but life goes on.

The school year went by rather quickly. I managed to pass Ancient Hylian with help from Aryll and a few of my other friends. Their efforts really helped me, and I was truly grateful that they were able to do it.

But it just wasn't the same.

When yearbooks were handed out on the last day of school, I immediately flipped mine to the Sophomores section and saw Zelda's picture. The school had put little flowers around her picture with the caption in tiny font reading, _'in honor of our beloved student, who sadly passed away this year.'_

They say that everyone looks terrible in their yearbook picture, but not Zelda. Her eyes were bright and I could feel the warmth of her sapphire gaze even through the photograph. Her golden hair was gently pulled back into a braided crown, while the rest of her hair hung in a curtain of curls.

I smiled despite myself. Zelda never made an effort to _look_ pretty. She just was. She never wore any makeup, nor did anything to her hair. She once told me that imperfections were perfect to her.

I flipped through the other pages, looking for myself, and there I was. As goofy as it gets. My smile was crooked and I swear one eye looked way smaller than the other. I groaned.

"Hey, man," called my best friend, Sheik Yoru.

"Hey," I greeted him dully.

He leaned over my shoulder and looked at my picture. I could tell he was trying hard to contain his laughter.

"Oh, shut up, it's not that bad!" I said defensively.

But his laughter was so contagious, I just had to join in a moment later.

His dark, ruby-red eyes twinkled with mirth as he stopped laughing. "Bruh, that's just priceless."

"Yours can't be any better." I muttered, flipping to the Y's section. Sure enough, there he was, in all his doofy glory. He was grinning, and his ridiculously long blond hair covered one of his eyes, while the other was partially obscured from view by what seemed like a finger on the camera lens.

"The hell?" he asked, severely confused. "Why is there a finger in my picture?"

I couldn't resist guffawing like an idiot. "Remember that lady who took your picture?"

"The one who smelled like roast beef? Yeah, how could I forget? She re-adjusted my pose like, a gajillion times."

"I don't think she was a real photographer..."

"No shiz, Sherlock! She made me look like a doofus! And I'm hot as hell!"

I laughed some more, while Sheik kept shaking his head in annoyance. "Don't they freaking edit these things?! They could've at least called me in for a retake."

"In this ghetto school? Hell no," I replied, still trying to recover from laughing. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. "They probably took a bunch of pics like this, bro, don't worry. You can't be the only one."

Turns out, though, there wasn't anyone else in the Sophomores section with the same bad luck as Sheik.

"Goddesses damn it," Sheik said angrily as the final bell of the school year rung and everyone raced outside. "She was out to get me. How am I supposed to get girls when my yearbook picture looks like crap?"

"Psh, with your charm who could resist." I said sarcastically. He punched me on the shoulder.

"Anyway, where's Aryll?" Sheik asked as I rubbed my burning shoulder.

"I don't know," I replied helpfully.

"What class does she have last?"

I shrugged, and Sheik rolled his eyes. "Some brother you are. How do you not know what class your sister has?"

"I'm her brother, not her freaking counselor,"

At that moment, Aryll came into view, surrounded by a group of friends. A lot of them were in my grade.

"Have a great summer, Ryll!" called Malon, one of the girls in my grade.

"Thanks, you too!" my sister called back. "You've got to come over sometime!"

"Definitely!"

Aryll proceeded to wave goodbye and hug countless others and I rolled my eyes.

"The feel when your sister is more popular than you," Sheik said smugly.

"Haha, so funny."

After about what felt like an hour later, Aryll finally walked over to Sheik and me, smiling brightly.

"You done with the paparazzi so we can go home?" I asked teasingly.

"Oh, shut up," she said, waving me off.

Sheik laughed. "You sound so much like Link right now."

"Except I'm way awesomer than Link," Aryll told him, "And prettier."

"Well, duh, you're a girl. Link can't be pretty."

 _Well, excuse me—wait. Did he just indirectly call my sister pretty?_

"Bro. Did you just call my sister pretty?"

"What?! No, I didn't!" Sheik insisted.

Aryll was giggling uncontrollably, and Sheik gave me a dirty look. I laughed. "Man, I ship this."

Aryll stopped laughing to give me the scariest death glare I'd ever seen in my life.

I chuckled nervously and started walking down the street, with the two of them following close behind me.

"Sharyll, maybe? Or how about Areik? Haha! That sounds like 'I reek'."

"Link, I will actually kill you." Aryll threatened.

Sheik just laughed. "Does being shipped with me really bring out this side of you? I'm a bit hurt," he said to her.

I turned around just in time to see her cheeks flush a bit red.

"No, it's just...Link's really annoying!"

"Suureee," I said, egging her on. I was walking backwards, and it probably wasn't a very good idea, but I honestly did not care.

"Link, you're going to fall and break your head open." Aryll warned me.

"Aw, but your face just now was so priceless!"

She groaned. I laughed and turned back around.

"Jeez, how do you put up with living with him?" Sheik asked.

"Years of practice," she replied. "Plus, I'm Grandma's favorite."

We made it home with a bit more death threats from Aryll, who, as soon as the door was open, ran upstairs to her room.

"Aw, sis, aren't you gonna hang with the cool kids?" I shouted.

"Please, no way! I've got better things to do!" was her response.

Sheik and I laughed, and I flipped on the TV as we both plopped down on the couch.

"Do you boys want anything to drink?" my grandmother called from the kitchen.

"We're good, Grandma!" Sheik answered. He was practically family, so he referred to her as 'Grandma' too.

I heard her chuckle a bit as she replied, "All right, just let me know if you do!"

"I'm so glad school's over," I said as we surfed channels.

"Same," Sheik said. "I don't think I could handle any more Algebra II."

I laughed. "But aren't you a math whiz?"

"True, but have you ever _tried_ to do matrices with fifteen rows and columns?"

"Damn, I guess Ms. Marie really doesn't have a soul."

"I swear, bro. She had me borderlining at an 89.9 percent last semester. I got a perfect score on the final. And she _still_ wouldn't change my grade!"

"Maybe she hated you."

"Oh, really, I didn't notice!"

I laughed. For some reason, I saw Sheik grin out of the corner of my eye.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing."

"Come on man, what is it?"

He sighed, looking at me. "I'm just...really glad that you're smiling again..."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, it's just, you've been really different since...the thing happened...and I was really worried about you, man. I was kinda afraid you'd never feel happy again. I mean, I don't know what you've been through. I really don't. I didn't know her like you did. But seeing you smiling and happy again just makes me feel good...ya know?"

I was quiet for a long time. Sure, I was smiling a lot more now...but that didn't really mean I wasn't over the whole thing. I still missed Zelda like crazy. I still thought about that day every single day. And I would for the rest of my life. But it's not like I could do anything about it...life goes on. And I can't do anything about it...

I smiled. "Shucks, man, no need to get all senti on me. For the record, I like seeing you happy too."

He grinned. "Aww, stop making me blush. Enough of that for now. Let's play some video games!"

I laughed and agreed.

Later that night, I lay in bed thinking for a while.

There was nothing I could do about it. But...something in the back of my mind begged to differ for some reason...Was there something I could've done? Or something I could do?

I shook my head.

 _Quit being stupid,_ I told myself. _You're a fifteen-year-old boy. You can't do anything about it, nor could you have done anything about it._

But that strange feeling in the back of my head continued to bug me through the night.

* * *

 **I just love the ship Sheik and Aryll, I don't even know why! Either way, you'll see it in my stories quite often. And I'm totally Link when it comes to shipping people irl. The people being shipped hate it, but I love it! :D**

 **Please leave a review letting me know what you think!**


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